Results 6,761-6,780 of 7,652 for speaker:Joanna Tuffy

Seanad: Disability Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I support Senator Terry's amendment. Five years is too long a timescale. Even though the Minister of State said a review will take place sooner than five years and not later than five years, it could be done at the very end of the five-year period. Five years is a long time if people are frustrated because the legislation is not working for them. It would be better if the period was shorter....

Seanad: Disability Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: How can the assessment officer be independent of the Health Service Executive if, under section 8, the officer is an employee of the executive?

Seanad: Disability Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: Does the Bill provide that the officer is independent?

Seanad: Disability Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I support Senator Terry's proposals in these amendments. I share her fear that somebody could end up never receiving his or her requirements and never have his or her assessment fulfilled. The scenario she outlined is the type of issue raised by the disability groups with which the Government consulted and relates to the area I understand is called progressivity. Public services are beginning...

Seanad: Disability Bill 2004: Second Stage. (31 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: While this Bill has been subject to much discussion as it passed through the Dáil, time remains for the Seanad to bring it to the proper standard. Senator Kett was self-congratulatory regarding the Government's achievement in bringing forward this legislation. However, as the Government has said, much more needs to be done. In two years, this Government will have been in power for a decade....

Seanad: Disability Bill 2004: Second Stage. (31 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: The Minister of State spoke about the €2.9 billion which is currently spent on services for people with disabilities. If we considered the matter from the perspective I have outlined, the focus would be on the €38 billion which is spent to proof expenditure to ensure everybody has his or her rights enforced, including people with disabilities and people of different genders and ages. In...

Seanad: Foreign Conflicts: Statements. (25 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: It is obvious that I do not have the same insight into this issue as Senator Minihan. As it is not in my brief, I am not as informed about this matter as I would like to be when speaking in a debate of this nature. I agree with the request made during a previous debate for Members to be briefed in advance of debates of this kind. When I examined the website of the Scottish Parliament, I...

Seanad: Report of National Task Force on Obesity: Statements. (24 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: Senator Feeney spoke about the importance of children playing, an issue on which I would also like to concentrate. I raised the matter in the House last week when the report of the national task force on obesity was first published. I have examined this problem in my local area and have also studied the report on national play policy which was published a few years ago by the National...

Seanad: Schools Refurbishment. (18 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I seek an update on the need for refurbishment work to be carried out at St. Brigid's school in Palmerstown. I have visited the school and seen that there is much work to be done, for example, to repair ceilings and ventilation and so on. It is a good school, housed in an old building and this refurbishment is urgently needed to bring it up to the required standard for the teachers and...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I would also like to debate the issues raised by Senator O'Toole regarding the report of the national task force on obesity. Yesterday, the Taoiseach said he found it shocking that children are not allowed to run around school playgrounds because of fears of litigation. This news is neither shocking nor new. The play policy of the National Children's Office, which was published some years...

Seanad: Visa Applications. (10 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has kindly extended the visa for the persons to whom this Adjournment matter refers, until June this year. However, the Department stated that any fresh application for a visa must be made from outside this country and, thus, the applicants must return to Pakistan to do so. The son of this family is working here as a doctor. His mother and...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: On the last point raised by Senator Dardis, as a solicitor who dealt largely in conveyancing, it is one of my bugbears that while auctioneers make much more money out of conveyancing than solicitors, they do not take on the same level of responsibility, liability and so on. For example, they do not have to certify title. Many people complain about solicitors' costs, but the same people do not...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I am a solicitor and I have a vested interest in this, but I do not agree with the suggestion that solicitors would like the legislation to be delayed or that the type of conveyancing practice employed in the past has been in their favour. It is only the legislators who can delay the enactment of legislation. It is up to us to put the system right, not the people who work within it....

Seanad: Immigrant Workers: Motion. (4 May 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Minister. Senator O'Rourke referred to Ireland as having an immigration policy. As I have said a number of times in this House, we do not have a coherent policy. It is very much a case of crisis management in that something happens and the Government usually responds in a negative manner which has led to legislation regarding carriers' liability and such...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Apr 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I wish to raise the plans by the Minister for Education and Science to link the funding of third level colleges to a college's performance and whether it cuts back on costs. I would like to hear more on these plans before I judge them. More important than placement in university leagues is a college's function to educate students, and it is our performance in that area over the years that has...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I move amendment No. 89: In page 13, line 46, after "oath" to insert ", affirmation". The purpose of the amendment is to include the word "affirmation". The Interpretation Act 1937 is not fully comprehensive in this regard. The Minister said on Committee Stage this issue would be covered by the inclusion of the phrase "or otherwise", as provided in Government amendment No. 95. This represents...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I thank the Minister and his staff for their work on this legislation. I thank the Minister of State for taking on board the amendments which I tabled on behalf of my colleagues. In particular I thank Senator Henry for bringing her expertise to bear today and on Second and Committee Stages. We must monitor this legislation to see if any changes need to be made.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I thank the Minister for taking on board the amendment we proposed on Committee Stage and for tabling a version thereof. Amendment No. 34 is probably better worded than my amendment.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: I move amendment No. 40: In page 7, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: "(3) Where a person has been found guilty of an offence, but prior to passing sentence the court becomes of opinion that the person is suffering from a mental disorder, the court having imposed a sentence may recommend that the sentence shall be served in a specified designated centre until such time as the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Apr 2005)

Joanna Tuffy: On behalf of my Labour Party colleagues, I add to the congratulations to Senator Ross. The award is well-deserved. New research to be published today by the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Brian Lenihan, concerns a local study that was carried out by the Tallaght west childhood development initiative. The research has relevance and broader application to...